Have you ever bought cocoa almonds? I got addicted to them a few years ago, and instantly thought how easy they would be to make at home. I’ve gone through a lot of almonds and cocoa powder trying different ways to make them, and this is by far my favorite. I skillet roast them in…

After my mass pepper roasting and grilling this week, we now have a bunch of roasted peppers in the refrigerator, ready for dips, sauces, soups, or just slicing and topping tacos and wraps. I have them in a container with extra virgin olive oil to keep them moist, and I won’t deny it—they taste fantastic….

I remember coming back from the Middle East in the 1990s and telling everyone about hummus, which most of my family and friends had never heard of it, let alone tasted. It had become a staple for me, and I missed it more than any other food I ate while living in Saudi Arabia, so…

It’s not a game day gathering without good dips, and this Baked Pimiento Cheese Crab Dip is a solid favorite at our house. For the folks who aren’t as fond of mayonnaise as others, this is a low mayo version with sour cream, roasted red pepper, lump crab meat, and hand-shredded sharp cheddar. This is…

I am generally not a fancy appetizers kind of gal, and in fact most of the time I am happy with hummus or some other dip, or nuts. You know, simple and tasty, not fussy. That all changes for the holidays. For Christmas parties I like the pretty stacked appetizers on crackers, baguette, or polenta…

Since we began growing our own tomatoes several years ago, we rarely ever buy tomatoes at the grocery store or market. We’re pretty much snowed under with tomatoes right now, and I’ve worked feverishly the last few days to preserve and cook with them. This year we are growing little grape tomatoes, Mr. Stripey and…

“Mommy, you know me so well!” That’s what I hear from Top Gun every time I tell him that we are having Chinese food for dinner. Seeing the excitement on his face always make me smile and feel happy that I’m making his favorite dishes, and that he has an adventurous palate and likes a…

After my first taste of a sautéed Spanish padron pepper a couple years ago, I knew I had to grow them in the garden. Our first plant grew well, but only produced a few peppers, hardly enough for a tapa. The second year was slightly better, then this year I decided to go all out…

Summer at Ticonderoga Farms is a big growing season. In addition to the bamboo and figs, they have a large pick-your-own garden as well as a community garden that has been filled by many people from the surrounding area. You can drive out to the farm to pick sweet peppers, chilies, tomatoes, watermelon, corn, and…